Fuses are used as circuit protection devices and form an electrical connection with a component in a circuit to be protected. One type of fuse includes a fusible element disposed within a hollow fuse body. Upon the occurrence of a specified fault condition, such as an overcurrent condition, the fusible element melts or otherwise opens to interrupt the circuit path and isolate the protected electrical components or circuit from potential damage. Such fuses may be characterized by the amount of time required to respond to an overcurrent condition. In particular, fuses that comprise different fusible elements respond with different operating times since different fusible elements can accommodate varying amounts of current through the fusible element. Thus, by varying the size and type of fusible element, different operating times may be achieved.
When an overcurrent condition occurs, an arc may be formed between the melted portions of the fusible element. If not extinguished, this arc may further damage the circuit to be protected by allowing unwanted current to flow to circuit components. Thus, it is desirable to manufacture fuses which extinguish this arc as quickly as possible. In addition, as fuses decrease in size to accommodate ever smaller electrical circuits, there is a need to reduce manufacturing costs of these fuses. This may include reducing the number of components and/or using less expensive components, as well as reducing the number and/or complexity of associated manufacturing steps.
Consequently, there is a need to reduce the number of components and/or manufacturing steps to produce a fuse with improved arc extinguishing characteristics. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed.